George Washington Bridge

The George Washington Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge across the Hudson River that connects Fort Lee in Bergen County, New Jersey, with the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and carries Interstate 95 and U.S. Routes 1 and 9, with fourteen vehicle lanes split between an upper level of eight and a lower level of six, which makes it the world busiest motor vehicle bridge and the only suspension bridge with that many lanes. The bridge is 4,760 feet long and its main span of 3,500 feet was the longest in the world from its opening in 1931 until the Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937. It was designed by chief engineer Othmar Ammann with Allston Dana and Edward W. Stearns, and Cass Gilbert served as consulting architect. Construction began in 1927, the upper deck opened on 25 October 1931, and the lower deck was added between 1959 and 1962.